Part A—Descriptive Metadata



LIBR202: Assignment 2: Part A

Descriptive Metadata

The Bachman Photographic Collection of National Monuments and Historical Landmarks

Team One:

K. A.

Jacqueline Danziger-Russell

C. F.

R. M.

M. R.

Submitted: 3/27/11

A Paper Completed in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for LIBR202-19

Table of Contents

Introduction…………………………………………………………………....…..3

Collection Description…………………………………………………....3

Statement of Purpose………………………………….………………...4

Audience……………………………………………………….……........4

User Need……………………………………………………………..… 4

Description of Database………………………………………………………...6

Unit of Analysis……………………………………………………......…6

General Summary of Discussions and Decisions……………………6

List of Attributes with Reason for Inclusion.......................................8

Data Structure and Validation Lists.............................................................9

Indexing Rules……………………………………………………………….....11

Team Records……………………………………………………………….....13

Beta Test Records—Differences Highlighted…………………………...…..18

Conclusions …………………………………………………………………….26

Teamwork Process…………………………………………………….26

Goal Achievement……………………………………………………...26

References……………………………………………………………………...28

Introduction

Collection Description

The Bachman Photographic Collection of National Monuments and Historical Landmarks contains photographs that were taken in 1942 and 1943 while Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Bachman was serving in the US navy as a young ensign, and later, as a lieutenant, junior grade. Bachman was 24 years old and a recent graduate of the University of California at Berkeley when he joined the Navy in 1942. Before reporting to the Naval Officer Indoctrination School at Fort Schuyler, New York, he had lived his entire life in California.  He spent the first year and a half of his naval career stationed at various locations on the eastern seaboard of the United States undergoing training in radar.  In the fall of 1943, he was assigned to the battleship U.S.S. Arkansas, at which point he was no longer permitted to carry his personal camera (a civilian issue Kodak 35) for security reasons.  The photographs in this collection were taken from scans of the original Kodachrome slides and reflect the perspective of a naval tourist visiting various landmarks in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States during the early months of World War II.

The photographs carry historical interest for their depiction of the evolution of the urban landscape in 20th century America.  Even though landmark structures such as those depicted in this collection tend to undergo little visible change over decades or even centuries, these images demonstrate that the architectural aspect of the cities pictured is far from static.  The view down Maine Street of Brunswick, Maine, for example, features the Town Hall building that was demolished in the 1960s (Maine Historical Society, n.d.), and the background of the image of Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts displays an urban skyline far different than the one a viewer would encounter today after seventy more years of high-rise construction.  Perhaps the most striking example of the historical specificity in this collection is the photograph of the Massachusetts State House with its dome appearing in a dull gray hue.  Images from both before and after this period would display a dome covered in shining gold leaf, but during the war the dome was painted over to avoid reflection during blackouts, thereby protecting the building and the city from becoming a target for enemy bombers (Letterman & Letterman, 2001).  While it is impossible to index for these kinds of period-specific features (at least not without demanding an unreasonable amount of additional research), an accurate record of the year and location of each photograph would allow a researcher with an interest in such details to find and make use of the images. 

Statement of Purpose

Team One’s goal is to construct a searchable database for a collection of photographs featuring United States monuments and historical landmarks. This collection belongs to the Bachman family and contains the personal photographs of Benjamin Bachman, spanning the years of 1942 through 1943. Not only will this collection of 13 photographs hold interest for members of the Bachman family, but these images may also pertain to historians interested in US and military history, users who are involved with architectural matters, photographers and collectors of vintage photographs, as well as various teachers, scholars, and so on. Therefore, it is Team One’s mission to create a viable, easily accessible, user-friendly database to serve both the IR needs of Bachman family members and for the variety of other users for whom this collection has relevance.

Audience

Team One has constructed this database in order to assist a diverse user community. This includes members of the Bachman family (who may find the database useful for genealogical purposes and also for the ability to access and preserve family history), as well as being relevant to many other end-users. According to Barbara Natanson (personal communication, February 24, 2011), Head Reference Section, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, collections of vintage images, such as this one, have interest for a wide range of possible users. This encompasses:

• Scholars of United States history

• Military historians

• Users with an interest in local history and historical preservation

• Filmmakers

• Architects

• Teachers of various disciplines

• Students of various disciplines

• Vintage photography enthusiasts—both collectors and hobbyists

• Artists and illustrators

• Producers of educational media

• Users who produce blogs or other types of web-based media

• Museums

User Need

• Members (and friends) of the Bachman family will be able to utilize this database in order to access information that will assist them in preserving family history and memories of people, places, events, and other personally significant information.

• Scholars of United States history will be interested in these images of iconic US landmarks as they appeared in the early 1940s.

• Military historians may find this database helpful in order to access information on Benjamin Bachman, examples of a naval ensign, or lieutenant, junior grade, and for the historical significance of the appearance of some of these landmarks during World War II—e.g. the blacked-out dome of the Massachusetts State House.

• Users with an interest in local history and historical preservation may find visual references of historical landmarks and their surrounding areas helpful when researching areas with the goal of preservation of these histories and of the sites, themselves.

• Filmmakers may find items in this collection relevant as a reference for recreating scenes that refer to a visual past. Documentary filmmakers will be able to use this database to gather images and information about the landmarks or time period that they wish to explore with their art.

• Architects accessing this database should be able to retrieve information relevant to their work, such as architectural features and their associated time periods.

• Teachers of various disciplines will be able to utilize the database in order to retrieve primary source examples of historic landmarks, architecture, art references, period photography, and history, etc.

• Students of various disciplines will find this database to be an aid in researching the time period represented in the images as well as for exploring the topics of architecture, photography, or national landmarks significant to US history.

• Vintage photography enthusiasts—both collectors and hobbyists—will find that this database contains information useful to photographers using vintage photography equipment and also for collectors of vintage photographs and their histories. For example, all of the photographs in this collection were taken on a civilian model Kodak 35 camera, one of the earliest 35-millimeter cameras produced in the United States.  The camera was manufactured starting in 1938 (Eastman Kodak Company, 1999) and was purchased in early 1942 (Benjamin Bachman, personal communication, March 8, 2011).  The pictures were taken on Kodachrome (color) slide film.

• Artists and illustrators may find references and inspiration in searching this database.

• Producers of educational media will be able to use this database to find historical information relevant to the creation of their educational materials.

• Users who produce blogs or other types of web-based media may find that accessing this database enables them to find information that will help them to develop their blogs or other web content.

• Museums will find the information offered by this database to be useful in the development of their collections, as they will be able to access historical content.

Description of Database

Unit of Analysis

A number of photographs taken by Benjamin Bachman, between the years of 1942-1943, have been compiled into an online collection. Each of the 13 photographs in this collection shows a naval tourist’s view of popular American monuments, landmarks, and memorial statues. Each building can be distinguished by its architectural design including roofing styles, physical compound, use of decor, and surrounding landscapes. Within the photographs of these structures, people and objects linked to the times can be seen and studied. Descriptions of these subjects can be classified as styles specific to this particular era, seen both in clothing styles and car models. This database was created to attract users with an interest in American monuments and memorial statues, as well as users intrigued by the travels of a naval tourist during the early 1940s.

General Summary of Discussions and Decisions

Prior to the first meeting held by Team One, one of the group members offered their personal photograph collection as the subject for the database assignment. Through postings on the discussion board, Team One agreed that a photograph collection belonging to the grandfather of one team member would be a good subject for the database creation. Team One looked over the photographs and began discussing the user groups and focusing on the purpose of the intended database design. Each group member was assigned a section of the write-up to research and develop.

As Team One began its research and created an initial attribution list, it discovered two challenges related to the use of this particular collection for its database: (1) Many of the photographs had little obvious interest to users beyond the immediate family of the owner, who would likely value them primarily for nostalgia’s sake, and (2) the sort of background information about the photographs that might be most valuable to some users (e.g., date taken, location, identity of any persons pictured) was not discernible from the images themselves.  Given these limitations, the team elected to focus the project on a subset of the larger collection, and identified photographs featuring historical monuments and landmarks as the focus of the database.

Team One found 13 photographs to use in a smaller collection and began listing the attributes of the new set of photographs. Details such as building structure, environmental characteristics, and military or government aspects were described. Each group member was continuously building on their assigned sections of the final write-up between Elluminate meetings.

Once work began on creating the database, more questions arose about the attribute list and the importance of some of the characteristics. A choice was made to replace some of the photographs in the collection with ones that better fit the unit as a whole. With this, some fields in the database were altered and some descriptors of scenery were discarded. With the intention that this database would be of historical significance, more attention was paid to the details of car styles and people in photographs than landscaping features. Since most of the photographs were taken of memorials and monuments, much of the database concentrates on architectural elements.

As Team One prepared to write the indexing rules, the team member who had provided the photographs fortuitously discovered the notebook in which the photographer had recorded the location and subject of the photographs as they were being taken, nearly 70 years ago.  This substantially overcame the problem of the lack of contextual information for the photographs, and permitted the team to include fields in the database conveying such information as the date and location.  A PowerPoint document was created featuring the photographs alongside scans of the relevant pages of the photographer’s notebook, enabling the indexer to draw upon the original notes to describe the images.  This information helped to clear up any lingering doubts that sufficient information was being provided. Initial struggles in narrowing down the photograph collection in the beginning of this process were forgiven as the memorial and monument classification came together appropriately.

After drafting the indexing rules and creating the database, the team gathered via Elluminate to discuss the attribute list and make necessarily alterations. Assigning primary responsibility for the indexing rules and the initial indexing to different team members allowed this phase to serve as an “alpha test” for the database.  Team One produced a data structure that relies heavily on validation lists, asking indexers to select appropriate terms from a limited predefined vocabulary.  This strategy may exclude useful information that does not conform to the terminology of the list.  However, Team One felt that excluding this information was the best way to ensure comprehensive coverage of the key features for the user group. The inclusion of one free text field (notes) was deemed sufficient to permit indexers room to record useful information not accommodated by other fields, while specific rules governing the information to be included should equip searchers with the basic identifying information for each image.

List of Attributes with Reason for Inclusion

|Attribute |Reason for Inclusion |

|Record Number |A record number is assigned to provide a unique identifier for each photograph cataloged. |

|Year |This attribute provides historical context for the photograph and allows the user to search by the year |

| |in which photographs were taken.  (More precise designation of dates is not available.) |

|Geographic Location    |This attribute allows users to search for photographs of landmark structures according to the city and |

| |state in which they are located and provides useful identifying information about the structures |

| |pictured. |

|Structure in Picture        |This attribute allows users to differentiate between photographs in the collection according to the type|

| |of structure represented. |

|Structure Features        |This attribute records the presence of distinctive architectural features of the structures represented,|

| |which may be helpful to users exploring the database for architectural or aesthetic interest.  While |

| |notation of the specific architectural styles of the different structures was omitted because it would |

| |require specialized knowledge on the part of indexers, the designation of readily-identifiable |

| |characteristics of the structures in the pictures should be sufficient to help users find images that |

| |represent the type of architecture they seek. |

|Water                |A number of environmental features of the photographs were considered for inclusion in the data |

| |structure, but most of these were omitted on the basis that they would not add valuable information |

| |about the picture for the user (e.g., trees, lawn, pavement).  The presence or absence of a body of |

| |water may provide meaningful information to users interested in the specific setting of the particular |

| |structures represented, or for users seeking a particular kind of image for an artistic purpose. |

|People |Some user groups may be interested in finding pictures of the landmark structures alone, without people |

| |present, while others may find that the presence of human figures adds important information.  Users |

| |with an interest in cultural history may find the depiction of military uniforms or the style of |

| |civilian dress to be noteworthy.  This attribute enables users to find images based on the number of |

| |people visible (none, one, or multiple) and the attire displayed (civilian or military). |

|Vehicles    |Users interested in cultural history or vintage design may be interested in the appearance of vehicles |

| |from the era represented in the collection.  This attribute enables them to find those pictures that |

| |contain automobiles. |

|Orientation  |Users who are looking for pictures for graphic design purposes or other aesthetic uses may have a need |

| |for photographs oriented either horizontally or vertically.  This attribute allows them to search on the|

| |basis of the orientation of the image. |

|Notes  |This attribute provides a basic description of the subject of the photograph, allowing users to search |

| |or browse the collection according to the name of the structure represented.  Repeating this information|

| |in a separate field rather than relying on the photographer’s record (see next field) allows for the |

| |standardization of descriptive labels.  The field also provides an opportunity for the indexer to record|

| |other pertinent information that is not accounted for in other fields, adding to the information value |

| |of the collection as a whole.  The roll and exposure number will not be valuable to most users, but for |

| |members of the Bachman family who have access to the original slides, it would be helpful for matching |

| |the surrogate description with the original item. |

|Photographer Rec        |This attribute provides the photographer’s record of the subject of each picture from a notebook kept at|

| |the time the picture was taken.  This provides critical information for the identification of the |

| |subject matter of the picture and also may provide insight into the significance each exposure held for |

| |the photographer. Those interested in the collection of photographs as historical artifacts may have a |

| |particular interest in the exact terminology chosen by the photographer to describe each image. |

                                           

Data Structure and Validation Lists

The following are the data structure and validation lists used with DB/Textworks for the Bachman photographic collection database:

Textbase Information

Textbase: C:\Users\Kelly\Documents\Libr 202\information

Retrieval\Team1_betatest\Bachman photographic collection

Created: 3/8/2011 9:14:44 PM

Field Summary:

1. RecNo: Automatic Number(next avail=16, increm=1), Term

2. Year: Text, Term

Validation: required, single-only, valid-list

3. Geographic Location: Text, Term

4. Structure in Picture: Text, Term

Validation: valid-list

5. Structure Features: Text, Term

Validation: valid-list

6. Water: Text, Term

Validation: single-only, valid-list

7. People: Text, Term

Validation: valid-list

8. Vehicles: Text, Term

Validation: single-only, valid-list

10. Picture Orientation: Text, Term

Validation: single-only, valid-list

11. Notes: Text, Word

12. Photographer Rec: Text, Word

Log file enabled, showing 'RecNo'

Leading articles: a an the

Stop words: a an and by for from in of the to

XML Match Fields:

1. RecNo

Textbase Defaults:

Default indexing mode: SHARED IMMEDIATE

Default sort order:

Default display form: Basic Record Form

Default edit form: Basic Record Form

Default report form: Basic Report Form

Default print form: Basic Report Form

Default query screen: Basic Query Screen

Default record skeleton:

Validation lists

|Year |1942 |

| |1943 |

|Structure in Picture |Building |

| |Memorial |

| |Monument |

| |Statue |

|Structure Features |Arch |

| |Brick |

| |Clock |

| |Dome |

| |Flag |

| |Flat roof |

| |Metal |

| |Obelisk |

| |Pillar |

| |Stairs |

| |Steeple |

| |Stone |

| |Window |

|Water |Not Present |

| |Present |

| |Unknown |

|People |Civilian |

| |Military |

| |Multiple |

| |Not present |

| |Singular |

|Vehicles |Not Present |

| |Present |

| |Unknown |

|Picture Orientation |Horizontal |

| |Vertical |

Indexing Rules

General Rules:

1.  All fields are mandatory unless otherwise indicated.

2.  Each photograph is accompanied by two pages from the photographer’s log giving information about the dates and locations for the roll of film and the subject matter of each exposure.  The number in the upper left corner of the slide identifies the roll and exposure of the image in question, e.g. 1.15 = roll #1, exposure #15.

3.  The photographer’s log may not give complete information about the picture in question; except for the field “photographer rec,” you may make reasonable deductions to supplement the information provided.

|Field |Rules |

|RecNo |Automatic number. Do not modify field.   |

|Year    |Enter the year the photograph was taken in YYYY format. |

|Geographic Location    |Enter city and state represented in the photograph, separated by a comma. |

| |Use U.S. postal service two-letter abbreviation for state, no periods. |

|Structure in Picture        |Select from validation list all applicable descriptors of structure type. Press F3 for validation list. |

| |Select both “monument” and “memorial” for every structure for which either label applies in order to |

| |accommodate searchers using these terms interchangeably. |

| |Use “building” to designate any structure of sufficient size to be entered by human beings, regardless of |

| |whether it has walls or is routinely occupied. |

|Structure Features        |Select from validation list all applicable descriptors of architectural features of the structure in the |

| |photograph. |

| |Press F3 for validation list. |

| |This field is optional. |

|Water  |Indicate whether a body of water appears in the photograph by entering “present” or “not present” (without |

| |the quotation marks). |

| |Press F3 for validation list. |

|People |Select applicable terms from the validation list to describe any person or persons pictured. |

| |Press F3 for validation list. |

| |If no people are visible in the picture, select “not present.” |

| |If people are present, select either “singular” or “multiple” to indicate number. |

| |Use “military” only for individuals clearly in uniform; in all other cases, select “civilian.” |

| |You may select both “military” and “civilian” for the same photograph if appropriate. |

| |Do your best to make a firm judgment about the presence or absence of people in the picture. |

| |In some cases it may help to zoom in.  If it is still unclear whether a figure is human, do not guess—select |

| |“not present.” |

|Vehicles |Indicate whether any vehicles appear in the photograph by entering “present” or “not present” (without the |

| |quotation marks). |

| |Press F3 for validation list. |

|Orientation  |Enter “horizontal” or “vertical” (without the quotation marks) to describe the orientation of the photograph.|

| |Press F3 for validation list. |

|Notes |Provide a brief yet comprehensive description of the primary subject of the photograph, including the full, |

| |unabbreviated name of the landmark structure pictured, if available, and the roll/exposure number for the |

| |image from the upper left corner of the slide. |

| |Use sentence case (capitalize first word and proper nouns only, end with a period). |

| |It is not necessary for the note to be a complete sentence.  It is okay if this field repeats information |

| |found in other fields. |

|Photographer Rec        |Transcribe the description of the picture from the list of exposures in the photographer’s log (lower right |

| |corner of slide). |

| |You may correct misspellings, but retain original capitalization, punctuation, and abbreviations. |

| |Do not include the exposure number. |

Team Records

|RecNo |1 |

|Year |1942 |

|Geographic Location |Brunswick, ME |

|Structure in Picture |Building |

|Structure Features |Brick |

| |Clock |

| |Window |

| |Steeple |

|Water |Not present |

|People |Singular |

| |Civilian |

|Vehicles |Present |

|Picture Orientation |Horizontal |

|Notes |Image of Main Street, Brunswick, ME. |

| |Image 1.15 |

|Photographer Rec |Looking West down Main St. Brunswick Maine |

|RecNo |2 |

|Year |1942 |

|Geographic Location |Brunswick, ME |

|Structure in Picture |Building |

|Structure Features |Brick |

| |Stairs |

| |Window |

|Water |Not present |

|People |Not present |

|Vehicles |Not present |

|Picture Orientation |Horizontal |

|Notes |Massachusetts Hall, Bowdoin College, |

| |Brunswick, ME. Image 1.19 |

|Photographer Rec |Mass. Hall Bowdoin College |

|RecNo |3 |

|Year |1942 |

|Geographic Location |Concord, MA |

|Structure in Picture |Statue |

| |Monument |

| |Memorial |

|Structure Features |Metal |

| |Stone |

|Water |Not present |

|People |Not present |

|Vehicles |Not present |

|Picture Orientation |Vertical |

|Notes |Minute Man statue, Concord, MA. Image 2.11 |

|Photographer Rec |Minute Man Concord Mass Near Bridge of #10 |

|RecNo |4 |

|Year |1942 |

|Geographic Location |Concord, MA |

|Structure in Picture |Memorial |

| |Monument |

| |Statue |

|Structure Features |Metal |

| |Stone |

|People |Military |

| |Singular |

|Vehicles |Not present |

|Picture Orientation |Vertical |

|Notes |Navy serviceman in dress whites (uniform) |

| |standing in front of Minute Man statue in |

| |Concord, ME. Image 2.13 |

|Photographer Rec |Me. In Whites. |

|RecNo |5 |

|Year |1942 |

|Geographic Location |Boston, MA |

|Structure in Picture |Building |

|Structure Features |Brick |

| |Flag |

| |Dome |

| |Pillar |

| |Stairs |

| |Stone |

| |Window |

| |Steeple |

|Water |Not present |

|People |Not present |

|Vehicles |Present |

|Picture Orientation |Horizontal |

|Notes |Image of Massachusetts State House, |

| |Beacon Hill, Boston, MA. Image 3.14 |

|Photographer Rec |Mass State House on Beacon Hill Dome was |

| |gold plated before the war. |

|RecNo |6 |

|Year |1942 |

|Geographic Location |Boston, MA |

|Structure in Picture |Building |

|Structure Features |Brick |

| |Clock |

| |Pillar |

| |Steeple |

| |Stone |

| |Window |

|Water |Not present |

|People |Civilian |

| |Multiple |

|Vehicles |Not present |

|Picture Orientation |Vertical |

|Notes |Image of Park Street Church in Boston, ME. |

| |Image 3.15 |

|Photographer Rec |Park St Church |

|RecNo |7 |

|Year |1943 |

|Geographic Location |Washington, DC |

|Structure in Picture |Building |

|Structure Features |Dome |

| |Pillar |

| |Arch |

| |Steeple |

| |Stone |

|Water |Not present |

|People |Not present |

|Vehicles |Present |

|Picture Orientation |Horizontal |

|Notes |Image of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. |

| |Image 4.5 |

|Photographer Rec |Front View of Capitol Washington D.C. |

| |(Sun under cloud) |

|RecNo |8 |

|Year |1943 |

|Geographic Location |Washington, DC |

|Structure in Picture |Building |

|Structure Features |Arch |

| |Dome |

| |Flag |

| |Pillar |

| |Stone |

| |Window |

| |Steeple |

| |Flat roof |

|Water |Not present |

|People |Multiple |

| |Civilian |

|Vehicles |Not present |

|Picture Orientation |Horizontal |

|Notes |Image of back view of the Capitol Building |

| |in Washington, |

| |DC. Image 4.7 |

|Photographer Rec |Capitol Washington D.C. Back View |

| |(Sun came out) |

|RecNo |9 |

|Year |1943 |

|Geographic Location |Washington, DC |

|Structure in Picture |Building |

| |Memorial |

| |Monument |

|Structure Features |Arch |

| |Dome |

| |Pillar |

| |Stairs |

| |Stone |

|Water |Present |

|People |Singular |

| |Civilian |

|Vehicles |Not present |

|Picture Orientation |Horizontal |

|Notes |Image of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC. |

| |Image 4.10 |

|Photographer Rec |Jefferson Memorial, Washington D.C. |

|RecNo |10 |

|Year |1943 |

|Geographic Location |Washington, DC |

|Structure in Picture |Building |

| |Memorial |

| |Monument |

|Structure Features |Obelisk |

| |Stone |

|Water |Not present |

|People |Civilian |

| |Singular |

|Vehicles |Not present |

|Picture Orientation |Vertical |

|Notes |Image of the Washington Monument in |

| |Washington, DC. |

| |Image 4.11 |

|Photographer Rec |Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. |

|RecNo |11 |

|Year |1943 |

|Geographic Location |Washington, DC |

|Structure in Picture |Building |

| |Memorial |

| |Monument |

|Structure Features |Obelisk |

| |Stone |

|Water |Present |

|People |Civilian |

| |Multiple |

|Vehicles |Not present |

|Picture Orientation |Horizontal |

|Notes |Image of Washington Monument in background, and |

| |Reflection Pool in foreground in Washington, DC. |

| |Image 4.12 |

|Photographer Rec |Reflection pool, Wash. Monument and Capitol. |

| |Taken in front of Lincoln Memorial. |

| |(Overpass + temporary buildings ruin effect. |

|RecNo |12 |

|Year |1943 |

|Geographic Location |Washington, DC |

|Structure in Picture |Building |

| |Memorial |

| |Monument |

|Structure Features |Flat roof |

| |Pillar |

| |Stairs |

| |Stone |

| |Window |

|Water |Not present |

|People |Not present |

|Vehicles |Not present |

|Picture Orientation |Horizontal |

|Notes |Image of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. |

| |Image 4.13 |

|Photographer Rec |Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C. |

|RecNo |13 |

|Year |1943 |

|Geographic Location |Washington, DC |

|Structure in Picture |Building |

|Structure Features |Arch |

| |Dome |

| |Pillar |

| |Steeple |

| |Stone |

| |Window |

|Water |Not present |

|People |Not present |

|Vehicles |Not present |

|Picture Orientation |Horizontal |

|Notes |Image of Capitol Building looking towards the |

| |South in |

| |Washington, DC. Image 4.14 |

|Photographer Rec |Capitol (another view) (Looking South) |

| |(over exposed) |

Beta Test Records – Differences Highlighted

Note: Each beta tester chose four images from among the complete set of 13 for indexing; this accounts for the variation in the number of records presented for each image. Differences in the automatically-generated record numbers have therefore not been noted as immaterial to the purposes of this test. Since the field “notes” calls for the indexer to describe the image in free text, it is to be expected that these entries will not be identical. The indexing rules for the “notes” field calls for the inclusion of two specific pieces of information: the full, unabbreviated name of the landmark structure pictured (if available) and the numbers of the roll and exposure. Variations or omissions of these pieces of information are highlighted below.

|Key |

| |Values present in some indexer’s records but absent from others. |

| |Values represented by different terms. |

| |Typos; variations in spelling, punctuation, or capitalization. |

|Attribute |Team 1 |Beta Tester 1 |Beta Tester 2 |Beta Tester 5 |

|RecNo |1 |16 |1 |16 |

|Year |1942 |1942 |1942 |1942 |

|Geographic Location |Brunswick, ME |Brunswick, ME |Brunswick, ME |Brunswick, MN |

|Structure in Picture |Building |Building |Building |Building |

|Structure | |Arch | | |

|People |Singular |Singular |Multiple |Multiple |

| |Civilian | | |Civilian |

|Vehicles |Present |Present |Present |Present |

|Picture Orientation |Horizontal |Vertical |Horizontal |Horizontal |

|Notes |Image of Main Street, |Bowdoin College. Parking |This picture depicts a |Bowdoin College_ |

|[No primary landmark |Brunswick, ME. |lot next to college. |street with cars and | |

|building identified in | | |buildings lining it. | |

|this image.] | | | | |

| |Image 1.15. |1.15_ | | |

|Photographer Rec |Looking West down Main St. |Looking West |Looking West down Main St. |Bay taken from the end of |

| |Brunswick Maine. |down Main St. Brunswick |Brusnwick, Maine. |mere point, Looking East |

| | |Maine. | |from end of Mere Point, Me,|

| | | | |in service dress Blue, Mere|

| | | | |Point, Looking West down |

| | | | |Main St. Brunswick Main. |

|Attribute |Team 1 |Beta Tester 1 |Beta Tester 2 |Beta Tester 5 |

|RecNo |2 |17 |2 |17 |

|Year |1942 |1942 |1942 |1942 |

|Geographic Location |Brunswick, ME |Brunswick, ME |Brunswick, ME |Brunswick, MN |

|Structure in Picture |Building |Building |Building |Building |

|Structure |Brick |Brick | |Brick |

|Features | |Flat roof | | |

| | |Metal | | |

| |Stairs |Stairs | | |

| |Window | |Window | |

|Water |Not present |Not present |Not present |Present |

|People |Not present |Not present |Not present |Not present |

|Vehicles |Not present |Not present |Not present |Not present |

|Picture Orientation |Horizontal |Horizontal |Horizontal |Horizontal |

|Notes |Massachusetts Hall, Bowdoin |Bowdoin College. Mass. Hall|Picture depicts a three |House, Several windows, |

| |College, Brunswick, ME. |Bowdoin College. Outside. |story house, surrounded by |Trees |

| | |Surrounded by |trees. | |

| | |trees. | | |

| |Image 1.19 |1.19. | | |

|Photographer Rec |Mass. Hall Bowdoin College |Mass. Hall Bowdoin College.|Mass. Hall Boudoin College |Garden, Brunswick, Maine. |

| | | | |Chapel, Boudois College, |

| | | | |Building |

| | | | |Boudois College, Mess Hall |

| | | | |Boudois |

|Attribute |Team 1 |Beta Tester 1 |Beta Tester 2 |

|RecNo |3 |18 |3 |

|Year |1942 |1942 |1942 |

|Geographic Location |Concord, MA |Boston, MA |Boston, MA |

|Structure in |Memorial |Memorial | |

|Picture |Monument |Monument |Monument |

| |Statue |Statue |Statue |

|Structure |Metal |Metal |Metal |

|Features |Stone |Stone |Stone |

|Water |Not present |Not present |Not present |

|People |Not present |Not present |Not present |

|Vehicles |Not present |Not present |Not present |

|Picture Orientation |Vertical |Vertical |Vertical |

|Notes |Minute Man statue, Concord, MA. |Statue of Minute Man. Outside. |Picture depicts statue of a soldier |

| | |Memorial? Tress in background. | |

| | |Statue on grass. | |

| |Image 2.11 |2.11. | |

|Photographer Rec |Minute Man Concord Mass Near Bridge |Minute Man Concord, Mass near Bridge |Minute Man Concord, Mass. Near bridge|

| |of #10. |of #10. |of #10_ |

|Attribute |Team 1 |Beta Tester 1 |Beta Tester 2 |Beta Tester 4 |Beta Tester 5 |

|RecNo |4 |19 |4 |17 |18 |

|Year |1942 |1942 |1942 |1942 |1942 |

|Geographic Location |Concord, MA |Boston, MA |Boston, MA |Concord, MA |Boston, MS |

| |Statue |Statue |Statue |Statue |Statue |

|Structure |Metal |Metal |Metal |Metal | |

|Water |Not present |Not present |Not present |Not present |Not present |

|People |Singular |Singular |Singular |Singular |Singular |

| |Military |Military |Military |Military |Military |

|Vehicles |Not present |Not present |Not present |Not present |Not present |

|Picture Orientation |Vertical |Vertical |Vertical |Vertical |Vertical |

|Notes |Navy serviceman in |Bachman standing on |Picture depicts |Benjamin Bachman in |Military man in photo|

|[Description of the person|dress whites (uniform)|the side of the |Benjamin Bachman in |Dress Whites, |standing in front of |

|pictured noted with |standing in front of |Minute Man statue. |his uniform in front |background Minute Man |marble looking |

|underlining; description |Minute Man statue in | |of the |Memorial, Concord, Ma,|structure, |

|of the landmark noted with|Concord, MA. | |Minute Man monument_ |1942. |Feet seen in |

|highlight.] | | | | |structure, nothing |

| | | | | |else. |

| |Image 2.13. |2.13. | |2.13 | |

|Attribute |Team 1 |Beta Tester 4 |

|RecNo |5 |18 |

|Year |1942 |1942 |

|Geographic Location |Boston, MA |Beacon Hill, Boston, MA |

|Structure in |Building |Building |

|Picture | |Statue |

|Structure Features | |Arch |

| |Stairs |Stairs |

| | | |

| |Brick |Brick |

| |Steeple | |

| | | |

| |Dome |Dome |

| |Stone | |

| | | |

| |Flag |Flag |

| |Window |Window |

| | | |

| |Pillar |Pillar |

| | | |

| | | |

|Water |Not present |Not present |

|People |Not present |Not present |

|Vehicles |Present |Present |

|Picture Orientation |Horizontal |Horizontal |

|Notes |Image of Massachusetts State House, Beacon Hill, |Massachusetts State House, on Beacon Hill, during the |

| |Boston, MA. |war with black painted dome. |

| |Image 3.14 |3.14 |

|Photographer Rec |Mass State House on Beacon Hill Dome was gold plated |Mass State House on Beacon Hill Dome was gold plated |

| |before the war. |before the war. |

|Attribute |Team 1 |Beta Tester 5 |

|RecNo |8 |19 |

|Year |1943 |1943 |

|Geographic Location |Washington, DC |Washington, DC |

|Structure in Picture |Building |Building |

|Structure Features |Arch |Arch |

| | |Stairs |

| | | |

| |Dome |Dome |

| |Steeple |Steeple |

| | | |

| |Flag | |

| |Stone |Stone |

| | | |

| |Flat roof | |

| |Window |Window |

| | | |

| |Pillar |Pillar |

| | | |

| | | |

|Water |Not present |Not present |

|People |Multiple |Multiple |

| |Civilian |Civilian |

|Vehicles |Not present |Not present |

|Picture Orientation |Horizontal |Horizontal |

|Notes |Image of back view of the Capitol Building in |Big building in back ground, American flag seen, few |

| |Washington, DC. |people in front on the grass. |

| |Image 4.7 | |

|Photographer Rec |Capitol Washington D.C. Back View (Sun came out) |Capital Washing DC backview (sun came out), Me across |

| | |from capital grounds in a small|

| | |garden, William Vander Linclon and myself (used |

| | |time delay on camera to get both of us) |

|Attribute |Team 1 |Beta Tester 3 |

|RecNo |9 |17 |

|Year |1943 |1943 |

|Geographic Location |Washington, DC |Washington, D.C. |

|Structure in |Building | |

|Picture |Memorial |Memorial |

| |Monument | |

|Structure Features |Arch | |

| |Stairs | |

| | | |

| |Dome |Dome |

| |Stone |Stone |

| | | |

| |Pillar | |

| | | |

| | | |

|Water |Present |Present |

|People |Singular |Multiple |

| |Civilian |Civilian |

|Vehicles |Not present |Not present |

|Picture Orientation |Horizontal |Horizontal |

|Notes |Image of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC. |Jefferson Memorial |

| |Image 4.10 |Roll number four and exposure number ten. |

|Photographer Rec |Jefferson Memorial, Washington D.C. |Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C. |

|Attribute |Value – Team 1 |Beta Tester 4 |

|RecNo |10 |19 |

|Year |1943 |1943 |

|Geographic Location |Washington, DC |Washington, D.C. |

|Structure in |Building | |

|Picture |Memorial | |

| |Monument |Monument |

|Structure Features |Obelisk |Obelisk |

| |Stone |Stone |

|Water |Not present |Not present |

|People |Civilian |Not present |

| |Singular | |

|Vehicles |Not present |Not present |

|Picture Orientation |Vertical |Vertical |

|Notes |Image of the Washington Monument in Washington, DC. |Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. |

| |Image 4.11 |4.11 |

|Photographer Rec |Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. |Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. |

|Attribute |Team 1 |Beta Tester 3 |

|RecNo |11 |18 |

|Year |1943 |1943 |

|Geographic Location |Washington, DC |Washington, D.C. |

|Structure in |Building | |

|Picture |Memorial | |

| |Monument |Monument |

|Structure Features |Obelisk |Obelisk |

| |Stone |Stone |

|Water |Present |Present |

|People |Multiple |Multiple |

| |Civilian |Civilian |

|Vehicles |Not present |Not present |

|Picture Orientation |Horizontal |Horizontal |

|Notes |Image of Washington Monument in background, and |Washington Monument |

| |Reflection Pool in foreground in Washington, DC. | |

| |Image 4.12. |This is roll number four, exposure twelve |

|Photographer Rec |Reflection pool, Wash. Monument and Capitol. Taken in |Reflection pool, Wash.Monument and Capitol. Taken in |

| |front of Lincoln Memorial. (Overpass + temporary |front of Lincoln memorial.(Overpass & temporary |

| |buildings ruin effect. |buildings ruin effect). |

|Attribute |Team 1 |Beta Tester 3 |

|RecNo |13 |19 |

|Year |1943 |1943 |

|Geographic Location |Washington, DC |Washington, D.C. |

|Structure in Picture |Building |Building |

|Structure Features |Arch | |

| |Steeple | |

| | | |

| |Dome |Dome |

| |Stone | |

| | | |

| |Pillar | |

| |Window | |

| | | |

|Water |Not present |Not present |

|People |Not present |Not present |

|Vehicles |Not present |Not present |

|Picture Orientation |Horizontal |Horizontal |

|Notes |Image of Capitol Building looking towards the South in |Capitol. |

| |Washington, DC. | |

| |Image 4.14 |This is roll number four and exposure number |

| | |fourteen. |

|Photographer Rec |Capitol (another view) (Looking South) (over exposed) |Capitol (another view) (Looking south) (over exposed) |

Conclusions

Teamwork Process

Team One undertook this assignment by meeting via Elluminate, utilizing Google Docs to share work and ideas, and using email and the provided discussion forums in Angel in order to communicate and organize their efforts.  The team experienced some initial frustration with scheduling meetings for everyone to attend.  However, a process was created for communicating effectively when not all of the team members were able to meet.  Eventually, a system was established for a working rhythm that allowed frequent check-ins as the project progressed. Team One made use of Elluminate recordings and the discussion boards to keep all members up to date on the progress of this project.  

Team One members have a wide range of skill-sets, which suited the project well. One member quickly learned the process of setting up meetings in Elluminate, and another member worked on scribe duties during our various meetings. Many tasks were shared jointly in team meetings.  Team One also learned how to use DB/Textworks and several members shared the task of writing out the team’s findings.  One member took primary responsibility for assembling the report in the proper format.  The photographs used in the project, as well as detailed information regarding the photographs, were provided by one member of the team.  A couple of the team members experienced technical difficulties with their computers during the course of the project that hampered their ability to communicate with the rest of the team for a brief period, but they were able to resolve these issues, and each member of the team strove to fulfill their share of the project.  Group members stayed current with the project by editing online documents, analyzing database content, and brainstorming about rules and database structure, all while staying flexible and motivated.  

Goal Achievement

The overall goal of the group project was to learn the process of database design, testing, and implementation while working in a group format.  The process of working with a team in order to provide a database designed for a particular purpose mimics the design process of a more formal, professional database project, and gave the members of Team One a good idea of the complexity involved in designing a database for information retrieval purposes. All members learned throughout the process by working with new software, brainstorming during the development phase, and working together across a long-distance medium in order to complete the project.  Team One made effective progress towards its goals by completing a database structure designed to provide comprehensive, consistent, and concise information retrieval in a relevant database.  Team One members worked together to edit the documents and to brainstorm indexing rules, attributes, and validation lists.  While the team endeavored to design a database that did not require specialized knowledge from indexers, the beta testing process revealed that the use of general terms nevertheless created an ambiguous and unwieldy data structure in some fields.  Team One received informative feedback from Team Two regarding ways in which the database could improve in terms of ambiguity of language. However, Team One’s database is largely precise, clear, and easy to use.

References

. Eastman Kodak Company. (1999). History of KODAK cameras (Customer Service Pamphlet). Rochester, NY: Author. Retrieved from

.

. Letterman, G., & Letterman, K. (2001). Walking Boston. Guilford, CT: The Globe Piquot Press.

.

. Maine Historical Society. (n.d.). Brunswick town hall, ca. 1960. In Maine memory network. Retrieved from

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